The Euromid Observer held a media conference, on Wednesday, highlighting the consequences of economic siege on Gaza which has now lasted eight years. A United Nations (UN) envoy warned about Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying that the Israeli move is a major causes of instability in the Middle East.

"It has been nine months since Israel agreed to a ceasefire that ended its third and most massive military offensive against the 1.8 million residents of the Gaza Strip. However, despite promises by Israel to loosen its nine-year blockade, by Egypt to facilitate further negotiations and by the international community to fund the massive reconstruction needed, none of those promises have been kept," the Euromid Observer stated, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency.

The report stated that the Israeli army continues to regularly shoot at fishermen, or confiscate their boats, when they merely are trying to make a living. In April alone, 15 shooting incidents, including one that ended in injury and property damage, were documented.

The report estimated the cost of relief, recovery and reconstruction due to last summer’s war is $4 billion, and international donors pledged $3.5 billion for Gaza’s reconstruction, but only $954 million had been disbursed as of early April.

"It's not surprising, then, UNRWA has suspended its cash-assistance program for repairs and rent due to lack of funds, and that the Israeli organization Gisha reports that of the 5 million tons of construction materials required, only 9 percent of that total has actually entered Gaza," Euromid commented.

The observer blamed Egypt, who has joined Israel as Gaza’s jailers, pointing to the 2014 annual statistics of the Gaza Interior Ministry that reported that Rafah crossing was closed for 66 percent of the time. That trend has continued. On April 19, the ministry noted that the Rafah crossing had been closed for 100 days since the beginning of 2015, marking the longest closure since 2009.

"The consequences are predictable. Unemployment has soared to 43 percent, and according to the International Monetary Fund, the Strip’s gross domestic product plunged 24 percent in the third quarter of 2014. This, is an economy that already was on life support," Euromid added.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor concluded the report with urgent calls on the international community force Israel to end its blockade in addition to other demands for help the steadfastness Palestinians.

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World Bulletin further reports, via Al Ray, that UN Special Coordinator for the so-called "Middle East Peace Process", Nickolay Mladenov, raised concerns about the illegal settlement activities by the Israeli regime in the occupied West Bank including East al-Quds (Jerusalem) during a session of the UN Security Council, on Tuesday.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), in 1967.

The UN envoy said that the 15-member council must have “no illusions about the impact of these unilateral actions” by Israel on destabilizing the situation in the occupied territories and in the whole region.

The UN envoy warned about the repercussions of the continuation of tensions in the Palestinian territories, saying the conflict should be settled in order to avoid instability in the region.

“This hard-earned belief in peace and negotiations must not be allowed to wither away,” he demanded, referring to efforts to establish peace in the Palestinian territories through negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

He warned that failure to establish peace in the occupied territories "can further destabilize the Middle East for decades.”

He further referred to the Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip and the continuation of the Israeli blockade on the territory as one of the developments harming peace and security in the region. On July 7, 2014, Israel launched a 50-day war on Gaza, in which over 2,130 Palestinians lost their lives and some 11,000 others were injured.

About 1,500 buildings and structures were also demolished during the Israeli offensive. Many Gazans remain homeless as a result of the war.

“No one can remain untouched by the scale of devastation, the slow pace of reconstruction, and the vast needs to rebuild lives and livelihoods” in the besieged Gaza Strip, Mladenov said, stressing that people in the blockaded area remain “desperate and angry” at the isolation imposed by the ongoing blockade on the territory, at the closure of the Rafah border crossing, and with donors for “not honouring their financial commitments for reconstruction.”

“There is a clear moral and humanitarian imperative not just for the United Nations and the international community, but primarily for the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to prevent the implosion of Gaza,” he stressed.

Mladenov further referred to the large number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the spillover of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon, calling on the international community to increase and expedite support for Lebanon. Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011.

Mladenov concluded that the growing tensions and “a vicious tide of terror and extremism” in the Middle East indicate that “peace cannot be achieved through violence, but at the negotiating table.”

He further warned about the dire consequences of unabated conflicts in the region, saying that the UN should step up efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

The heavy Israeli fire forced the Palestinian fishermen to flee and leave the sea, the sources added.

Israel’s attacks against Palestinian fishermen, who do not pose any threat to Israeli soldiers, in the Gaza Strip constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, relevant to the protection of the civilian population and respect for its rights, including every person’s right to work, and the right to life, liberty and security of person, as codified in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), despite the fact that Israel is a State Party to the Covenant.

Two children injured in an explosion in GazaSeveral Israeli military vehicles, and four armored bulldozers, carried out on Wednesday morning a limited invasion into an area, east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Media sources said armored vehicles and bulldozers advanced from the Kissufim military base, across the border fence, while Israeli drones flew overhead.

The soldiers advanced a few dozen meters into Palestinian agricultural lands, and withdraw later.

In related news, medical sources said two children were injured, on Wednesday at dawn, in an explosion that took place near the Al-Andalus towers.

Rescue teams rushed to the scene, while the police initiated an investigation into the incident. Israeli occupation army rolls into central GazaThe Israeli occupation army forces on early Wednesday morning rolled into the central Gaza Strip, amid heavy discharge of gunfire.

An on-the-spot observer working for the Quds Press said four Israeli bulldozers and a military jeep stationed at the Kisovim military post, northeast of Khan Younis, moved some 100 meters into eastern Deir al-Balah city, in central Gaza while warplanes roared over the Strip’s sky.

Heavy barrages of gunfire were randomly unleashed throughout the incursion while Israeli warplanes whooshed over the blockaded coastal enclave, the field observer added.

Israel has violated human rights of Palestinians and used internationally banned weapons against civilians in Gaza, Turkey's head of religious affairs said Sunday. Mehmet Gormez, president of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs, made the remarks during his first trip to the Gaza Strip Sunday. Gormez is in the coastal enclave on the invitation of Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs Yusuf Ismail al-Sheikh. Referring to Israeli government's eight-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, Gormez said that the people of Gaza had free minds and free hearts despite the daily horrors they faced. He said that the Israeli army had used internationally banned weapons in its anti-Palestinian deadly operations in the Gaza Strip.

"Israel used internationally banned weapons and violated religious and human rights [of Palestinians]. Israel must be prosecuted," he added. During his visit, Gormez vowed to support the rebuilding of all the mosques destroyed during Operation 'Protective Edge'. Gormez also met with Ismail Haniyeh, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau, in Gaza. Haniyeh praised Turkey's assistance to Palestinians, which he said was an indication of the "reliable and sacred" bond between the two sides. "Gaza in particular and Palestine in general praises Turkey's support in all domains...We will never forget the Turkish That blood was spilled on the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla in a bid to break the siege on the Gaza Strip" the senior Hamas leader said. On July 8, 2014, Israel launched its "Operation Protective Edge" offensive in the Gaza Strip that left more than 2,000 people, most of them civilians, dead. The Israeli bombardment had also left around 11,855 housing units destroyed or severely damaged, and at least 425,000 people were displaced, according to an August 2014 UN report.

Palestinian fishermen miraculously survived when the Israeli occupation navy on Monday evening opened machinegun fire at their boats off the coast of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Local sources said that the Palestinian fishing boats were in the northern waters of Gaza when the attack happened.

This was not the first such attack in months. The Israeli occupation army has committed dozens of violations against Palestinian civilians in border areas and off the coast of Gaza since it accepted the Egyptian-brokered truce agreement with the resistance in August 26, 2014.

German government announced that it will provide 37 million Euros to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip following the Israeli summer aggression that resulted in tens of thousands of demolished homes, schools, medical centers, and governmental institutions.

UNRWA has earlier affirmed that Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, pledged to provide 73 million Euros for the restoration of the Palestinian Gaza Strip following his visit to the area.

Along the same line, the German information center Cairo pointed out that German has provided 20 million Euros in 2014 for the reconstruction of Gaza and offered 71 million Euros as whole to the UNRWA last year.

In this regard, UNRWA announced that it had received so far German financial support for the reconstruction of 200 out of 9161 completely demolished houses.

In June 2014, Israel launched a brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip. According to UN data, the 51-day war claimed the lives of over 2,100 Palestinians mostly children and women and 71 Israeli soldiers. Palestinian authorities have estimated that thousands of residential buildings in Gaza were damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

In late August, a truce agreement has been reached under the mediation of the Egyptian authorities. The agreement envisaged Israel opening border crossings to allow humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter Gaza. This was not achieved so far.

MP Jamal al-Khudari, the head of the Popular Committee against the Siege confirmed that Gaza reconstruction has not begun yet.

In a press statement on Monday, MP Khudari said no real steps have been started in reconstructing 60,000 housing units including entire neighborhoods and housing towers.

“Israel has been spreading the news about allowing the entry of construction materials into Gaza through Karem Shalom, but what has been reconstructed is only rebuilding of the partially damaged structures,” he said.

Khudari revealed that what entered to the blockaded enclave since the Israeli aggression ended last summer has not met 10% of the market’s need. He pointed out that Israel disrupts the entry of the required quantities of building materials which are estimated at 3,000 tons daily.

He said thousands of the displaced people of Gaza are still living in shelters, tents and caravans or under destroyed houses which forms a real danger to their lives.

MP Khudari renewed his call on the donor countries to abide by their pledges of Gaza reconstruction as the affected people are still waiting for their promises in Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo last October.

He also called on the donor countries to pressure Israel to open the crossings and to end the siege as “a gate to reconstruction”.

Mehmet Görmez, president of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs, was in the Gaza Strip on Sunday where he said that Israel has used internationally banned weapons and violated religious and human rights against the Palestinians, Al Sabah newspaper reported. Görmez was in Gaza at the invitation of Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs Yusuf Ismail al-Sheikh. The cleric said Israel must be prosecuted for its violations. Görmez also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to the report. Haniyeh praised Turkey's assistance to the Palestinians, saying it was an indication of the reliable and sacred bond with Turkey, Al Sabah reported. "Gaza in particular and Palestine in general praises Turkey's support in all domains," Al Sabah quoted Haniyeh as saying. Görmez reportedly said that the people of Gaza had free minds and free hearts despite the daily horrors they faced and the blockade on the coastal enclave.

Israeli occupation forces on Monday morning have opened fire on fishermen boats off the Gaza shores.Local sources said that Israeli military boats targeted the civilian boats, no injuries were reported.Last Monday as well, AlQuds newspaper said that Israeli naval forces continued to target Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast, injuring several Palestinians since the beginning of the fire truce following the last Israeli attack on Gaza last summer.Read More: Israeli illegal buffer zone policies are typically enforced with live fireFollowing disengagement from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Israel unilaterally and illegally established a so-called "buffer zone", an area prohibited to Palestinians along the land and sea borders of the Gaza Strip. The precise area designated by Israel as a "buffer zone" is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire. The establishment of the 'buffer zone' is illegal under both Israeli and international law.

Israeli navy gunboats opened machinegun fire and shells at Palestinians’ fishing boats in Gaza sea on Sunday. No casualties were reported.Local sources revealed that a number of Israeli navy gunboats fired shells and opened machinegun fire at the Palestinian fishing boats in the morning hours.

The heavy shooting forced the Gazan fishermen to leave the sea and end fishing, the sources added.

The attack is another episode in the series of Israeli daily violations of the Cairo-brokered truce accord signed in the wake of last summer’s offensive on the besieged coastal enclave, which killed over 2,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

An official Turkish delegation led by minister of religious affairs Mohamed Kormaz is expected to visit the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Turkish ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Mustafa Sarnch will join the delegation on its two-day visit to the Strip.

During his stay in Gaza, minister Kormaz will tour bombed areas, especially where a number of mosques sustained damage during the last Israeli war on Gaza.

The minister will also hold meetings with deputy head of Hamas's political bureau Ismail Haneyya and a number of Palestinian officials from the legislative council and the ministry of religious affairs.

In eastern Gaza City, among ruins and memories of war and destruction, a red carpet was laid out for a film festival on human rights.

The event was held amidst rubble in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood, where some 100 Palestinians died in last year's Gaza war.

The Karama ('Dignity' in Arabic) Human Rights Film Festival was the first of its kind to ever be held in Gaza – and the chosen location was just the “right place” to hold such an event, according to organizer Saud Aburamadan.

“When we were looking for locations to screen the films we arrived in Shujaiyeh in eastern Gaza City, a large part of which was turned to rubble. We stood there next to the destroyed mosque, surrounded by destroyed homes in every direction, and became clear that it was the right place to hold a film festival focused on human rights,” Aburamadan told +972 Magazine.“For us, red is first and foremost the color of so much blood that was spilled here this summer. The blood of women, men and children,” Aburamadan said.Around 100 Palestinian deaths took place in Shujaiyeh alone. Thirteen Israelis also died there.Hundreds of residents showed up to the festival on opening night, along with others from different parts of Gaza.Pictures from the event, which screened documentaries outside, showed a full house. Every available chair was taken, while others stood on mounds of rubble to get a view of the films being showcased. Some were shown watching the films from the windows of their houses.Aburamadan stressed that the setting was a rare one for Gaza, which hasn't had a single movie theater since the First Intifada.“It was 9:30pm and the place was full of light. You have to understand, Shujaiyeh has lived in darkness for the past eight months. The infrastructure was destroyed. People have been living in darkness, in candle light. This festival brought normalcy back for a moment. It brought daylight.”The Karama Human Rights Film Festival, which ran from May 12-14, consisted of 180 films from countries including Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Russia. Twenty-eight of those were screened over the three-day event.The video was made by Lama film, an independent production company in Gaza.

Israeli soldiers opened fire, on Saturday morning, on Palestinian farmers in their own lands, east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza, while navy ships opened fire on fishing boats in southern Gaza.

Media sources said several soldiers, and armored military vehicles, advanced close to the border fence, and fired rounds of live ammunition on the farmers, and on a number of Palestinian shepherds.

The attack did not lead to casualties, but the residents had to leave the area fearing addition Israeli fire, and escalation.

In addition, Israeli navy ships fired dozens of live rounds targeting a number of Palestinian fishing boats in Gaza waters, close to the Khan Younis shore, in the southern part of the coastal region.

The attack caused property damage but no injuries; the fishers sailed back to shore to avoid further navy fire.

The latest attacks are part of ongoing Israeli violations carried out against the Palestinians in different parts of the besieged and improvised coastal region.

Three Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli live fire Friday afternoon to the east of Gaza city, while another one was shot east of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces opened their machine gun fire towards dozens of Palestinians who marched in Gaza city and Khan Younis marking the 67th anniversary of the Palestinians Nakba (catastrophe) local sources said.

Three people were transferred to hospital as they suffered moderate injuries after being shot during the peaceful march in Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza city, while the fourth injured was taken to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israeli heavy live fire prevented the protesters' progress into the occupied territories, the sources added.

Friday's armed attack came as part of the Israeli repeated violations to the ceasefire agreement reached on Aug 26, 2014 to end Israel's brutal aggression on Gaza.

Three Palestinians were injured by live fire during a Nakba Day demonstration in the Gaza Strip on Friday, witnesses said.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers opened fire on peaceful demonstrators east of Gaza City, hitting three men in the legs.

Dozens of Palestinians were taking part in the march to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the mass displacment of Palestinians during Israel's creation.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an there were "about 100 rioters in the area" during the incident, confirming three direct hits by live fire after Israeli forces opened fire at the lower extremities of five individuals who approached the "security fence," and did not halt on order of the Israeli forces.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured in a large explosion in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, witnesses and medics said. Medical sources said at least 70 Palestinians were injured. Fifteen of those were taken to al-Shifa hospital for treatment as a result of the explosion.

The Palestinian ministry of interior said the explosion happened during the dismantling of an unexploded F16 rocket left by the Israeli army.

Ambulances rushed toward the scene of the blast in the al-Atatra neighborhood of Gaza City, with black smoke plumes visible from a distance.

Locals reported that the blast caused an electricity blackout in the area. See video

Palestinian medical sources said that
50 Palestinian civilians were injured on Thursday afternoon when an
Israeli missile exploded near residents homes in Beit Lahyia town in the
northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Three civilians were moved to hospital and were admitted to surgery after sustaining critical wounds, medical sources added.

According to witnesses, a missile that was fired by Israeli jet fighters
and did not explode during last summer Israeli war on Gaza was found
near residents’ homes on Thursday, when some local men tried to disarm
it and remove it the missile went off causing huge damage and injuring
50 civilians.

Palestinian sources report that during the Israeli war on Gaza last
summer, Jet fighters bombed Gaza with hundreds of live ammunition, scores
of those missiles and bombs did not explode and continue to threaten
the life of the civilian population of the coastal enclave.

15 Palestinian family in the Gaza Strip reported the disappearance of their sons in the summer-long Israeli offensive on the region which took place in 2014, the International Red Cross spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, Sohair Zaqout said, in a press statement, that the Red Cross has received complaints from 29 families who lost their sons; 15 of them were found, while the other 14 are still missing.

She explained that the search process was done with the competent authorities in Gaza, and the Israeli occupation.

Statistics collected by the Euro-Mediterranean Observer of Human Rights reveal that more than two thousand were killed in the 2014 Israeli offensive, 530 of whom were children, while 302 were women.